How to Surrender All

Did you know other relationships can come between you and God? Relationships, like “things,” can become idols to which we attach more importance than our relationship with God. Most of you know the story of Abraham in Genesis 22:1-18. After Abraham waited for decades for his promised son, Isaac is born, and Abraham is overjoyed. Then one day, God tells Abraham to sacrifice the boy on the altar. Can you imagine the questions Abraham had? He loved Isaac greatly, but he also trusted God, so he got up early the next morning to obey God. He didn’t try to find a way out. As he placed Isaac on the altar, and started to follow God’s command, an angel stopped him. God saw Abraham’s obedience and provided an alternate sacrifice as well as future of blessings. God’s blessings can flow to us and through us into every relationship we have if we readily surrender to Him. How are your relationships? Are any of them coming between you and God?

Surrendering doesn’t mean we can’t have goals or ambitions. God puts those desires in our hearts. Surrender doesn’t mean drastic personality changes, but it does mean we submit to His will and join in His amazing plans for our lives. Take a couple of minutes to read Romans 12:9-19. This is what surrender truly looks like – Love others, hate what is wrong, stand for good, honor one another, don’t be lazy, serve the Lord, and the list goes on. Can you imagine how our lives would be different if we lived God’s way?   

Godly relationships come when we are free from offense, when we give up our “right to be right.” How? Paul tells us in Colossians 3, verses 17 and 23, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father” and “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” In other words, be thankful for God’s blessings, don’t try to control others, trust God, give grace – live life as if everything you do is for the LORD – because it ultimately is! 

This week, may we trust God and act appropriately, surrendering fully to Him so we can be His representatives in all we do and all we say.